The invention relates to an armrest arrangement for a motor vehicle door.
Such an armrest arrangement comprises an armrest which is adjustable in a direction of adjustment (which is possibly location-dependent and thus spatially varying); a guide device extending in the direction of adjustment to be arranged on a motor vehicle door; at least one slide movably guided on the guide device in the direction of adjustment; at least one coupling element, via which the armrest is connected to the at least one slide, so that with an adjusting movement of the slide along the guide device, the armrest is driven along in the direction of adjustment; a locking mechanism, by which the armrest may be locked in a previously set position of adjustment along the guide device; and a door lining, which extends two-dimensionally between the slide and the armrest (so that the slide is not visible from the vehicle interior, in the installed state of the armrest arrangement in a motor vehicle) and which is penetrated by the at least one coupling element.
By means of such an armrest arrangement, the position of adjustment of the armrest may be adjusted in the direction of adjustment, by the locking mechanism associated with the armrest being unlocked by a movement of the armrest in an unlocking direction. In the unlocked state of the locking mechanism, the armrest may then be displaced along the guide device into a new position of adjustment. When reaching the desired position of adjustment, the locking mechanism is then locked again, so that the armrest remains in the previously set locked position, which is adapted to the current user of the armrest as a comfort position.
The locking mechanism of the armrest arrangement is thus typically pretensioned in the direction of the locked state by means of a resilient element, so that the armrest has to be actively transferred by the action of force in the unlocking direction from the locked state into the unlocked state. The armrest remains in the unlocked state as long as a force acts thereon in the unlocking direction. During this time, the armrest may be moved in the direction of adjustment into a new position of adjustment.
For ergonomic reasons, the unlocking of the armrest and/or more specifically of the locking mechanism is generally carried out by the action of force on the armrest parallel to the surface (door plane) spanned by the planar door lining, the unlocking direction being different from the direction of adjustment of the armrest. Thus the unlocking direction extends—relative to the installed state of the armrest arrangement in a motor vehicle—generally along the vehicle longitudinal axis (i.e. the forward direction of travel).
For visual reasons, namely for optimizing the design of the armrest arrangement on the interior side, the armrest is positioned as tightly as possible against the door lining transversely to the door plane—i.e. viewed along the horizontal vehicle transverse axis. This may, however, even at low tolerances, lead to the fact that with an adjusting movement of the armrest in the direction of adjustment, the armrest scrapes against the door lining which leads to wear and tear and unpleasant noise.